


Constellation Prize

by Andithiel



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Auror Partners, BAMF Ginny Weasley, Bad Pun, Bottom Harry Potter, Friends to Lovers, Ginny Weasley is a Good Friend, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Implied Switching, Jealous Harry Potter, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Harry Potter, Pining, Resolved Sexual Tension, Top Draco Malfoy, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 04:17:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19369600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andithiel/pseuds/Andithiel
Summary: Harry’s been pining for his friend and Auror partner for almost a year. But despite what his friends say, he and Draco aren't an old married couple...Draco has a boyfriend, there's no way he'd ever be interested. Right?





	Constellation Prize

**Author's Note:**

> So this was supposed to be a little drabble inspired by my guilty pleasure song [Constellation Prize](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2HPDlVdSyk), but as so often happens, it turned on me and demanded to be a 12k fic with pining Harry. I guess we're all welcome!
> 
> Thank you so much to the ever amazing [Kristinabird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kristinabird/pseuds/Kristinabird) for the beta and for ~~bullying me into~~ encouraging me to finish this. Also a huge thank you to [WO2Ash](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WO2Ash/pseuds/WO2Ash) for the britpick, additional beta and cheerleading.

_Draco’s smile is contagious as he walks towards Harry in the middle of Diagon Alley, his face so soft in the sunlight. Harry floats towards him, and Draco cups Harry’s face, capturing his lips in a sweet, gentle kiss, not caring that witches and wizards passing by are staring at them._

_No, Draco’s smile is warm and genuine as Harry sets down a steaming plate of wine cooked salmon in front of him on their dinner table._

_“Merlin, Harry, I knew there was a reason I married you,” he says before taking a bite and groaning in pleasure._

_No, Draco’s smile is slow and soft in the morning light as they lie nestled together under the covers, his fingers tracing patterns over Harry’s back, making him shiver when they reach the dip of his waist._

_“I love you,” he murmurs._

_“I love you too,” Harry says, heart swelling. “Do we have to go to work today? Can’t we just—?”_

“Harry?”

_“Can’t we just stay here and—?”_

“Harry!”

Harry snapped out of his daydream, looking up. “Sorry, what?”

Draco stood in front of his desk, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Oh sorry, did I interrupt your train of thought?”

Harry cleared his throat, feeling his cheeks warm. He wasn’t sure how good Draco was at Legilimency. “I was just… There’s some interesting… stuff…,” he said, gesticulating to the parchment in front of him.

“Oh I absolutely agree, Robards’ memo on the proper use of wand holsters is particularly engaging” Draco said, his smile growing bigger, making his eyes crinkle at the corners.

“I, er…” Harry said eloquently.

Draco snorted softly. “I thought so. Come, let’s go.”

“Where are we going?”

“The dueling room. There is no way either of us will be able to concentrate on that man’s droning writing on a Friday afternoon. Might as well get something useful done before we clock out.” Draco turned, grabbing the bag that was sitting on the edge of his desk. “Plus,” he added with a smirk, “it’s been ages since I beat you.”

Harry scrambled out of his chair, summoning his bag as he went after Draco. “And today will not break my streak, Malfoy!”

Draco left their office, his laughter ringing out, and Harry thought it was a Siren song, he’d follow that sound anywhere.

* * *

The dueling room was silent but for the squeaking of shoes, panting breaths and thumps as feet hit the floor. No one in their right mind was here this time of the week.

“ _Flipendo_!” Draco shouted but Harry cast a _Protego_ lazily.

“You’re getting predictable, Malfoy!” he shouted with glee. “You keep using that one after you’ve cast a wind charm to throw me off!”

“Oh, is that right?” Draco huffed, blowing a strand of hair from his eyes. 

His face was flushed and the sun filtering in from the grimy windows made his hair shine. Harry had to look away and was immediately hit with a Stinging Jinx.

“Ow! You play dirty, Malfoy!”

It was strange, really, Harry thought as he dodged another one of Draco’s jinxes, it didn’t feel that weird anymore. He actually loved their duelling sessions, and this day it felt especially good since they hadn’t done it for a long time. The first time of course, during their training, it had been awkward, both of them remembering what had happened years ago in a bathroom on the sixth floor, but with time they discovered that they were a good match for each other.

Harry moved his wand as if he was casting a _Levicorpus_ , but silently and wandlessly cast a _Stupefy_. Draco groaned in frustration.

“Not fair, Potter, that’s cheating!” he shouted as he dodged the jet of red light. 

“Well, did I ever tell you I was almost sorted Slytherin?

Draco halted, giving Harry a perfect opportunity to cast a _Tarentallegra_.

“You… you were… almost sorted… Slytherin?” Draco panted while his feet were tapping this way and that.

Harry laughed as he lifted the spell.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” he said while blocking Draco’s _Petrificus Totalus._

” _Expelliarmus_!” he shouted, catching Draco’s wand as it soared towards him. Draco looked thunderous.

“Using the spell that helped you defeat the Dark Lord? That was a low blow even for an almost Slytherin,” he said, but Harry saw the twinkle in his eyes.

He shrugged.

“It’s a useful spell, is all,” he said, flashing Draco a grin. He liked this, in the duelling room he was much less awkward around Draco.

Draco laughed and straightened up, extending his hand.

“Good match, Potter,” he said with an easy smile that made Harry’s stomach do a somersault. He held out his hand and grasped Draco’s, feeling the tingle of their contact for just a second before Draco had flipped him around in a police grip, pressed his knee on the back of Harry’s knee, forcing him down on the floor while twisting him onto his back. Finally Draco straddled his torso, his hands pinning Harry’s wrists to the floor.

“You forget, Potter, that one of us was _actually_ sorted Slytherin,” he murmured, so close that Harry felt Draco’s warm breath in his ear.

Draco’s hair fell in soft strands around his face, tickling Harry as he lay there and Harry couldn’t help but let out a low growl. Draco’s eyes widened, and Harry could almost swear that he heard his breath hitch. Their eyes locked, Harry felt like time itself had stopped.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything?” came a voice from the door.

Both Draco and Harry whipped their heads around to see Robards standing in the door frame. Harry felt his face heat and Draco hastened to get off of him and stand up, brushing his palms on his thighs.

“Head Auror Robards, didn’t see you there!” he said as he gave Robards a smile that was a bit strained around the edges.

“No worries, lads, I needed to talk to Auror Potter,” Robards said and gave Draco an equally forced smile. “Do you have a minute, Potter?”

Harry scrambled to his feet, hoping his burgeoning erection wouldn’t be too obvious through his sweatpants when he stood up.

“Yeah, sure.”

Draco worried his bottom lip between his teeth, and Harry wanted to grab him and kiss him, embarrassment and arousal swirling in his body.

“In private, please,” Robards added with a pointed look at Draco.

Draco’s eyes turned steely and there was a twitch in his jaw. “I’ll go down to the changing rooms and take a shower,” he told Harry before summoning his Auror robes and walking away. Robards regarded him with a slight frown.

“Sir?” Harry said and Robards shook himself.

“Yes, I was wondering if you would be willing to give a lecture to the new Auror trainees about the war and your part in it,” he said, cutting to the point immediately as always. “You know, surviving in the woods and how you defeated You-Know-Who.”

Harry’s stomach dropped. Unconsciously he lifted his hand to his scar and noticed Robards’ eyes flitting to it.

“Listen, Potter, I know you’re not really comfortable talking about these things, but these trainees were so young when the final battle took place, most of them had only just started Hogwarts! They need to understand what it was like.”

That made sense, but while Harry agreed it was important to keep the memories of the war and what happened alive, he was tired of being paraded around like a circus clown, like he still owed everyone a piece of him. He looked at his hands, at his wand still lying on the floor where Draco had wrestled him down, thinking about how he wasn’t the only one who had had a great part in the war.

“I’ll think about it, sir,” he said eventually, “but maybe you could ask Draco too? He has a lot of insight into how the Death Eaters operated.” Harry felt he would be much more comfortable if he had Draco with him.

Robards smiled but his eyes remained cold.

“Well, if you’ll think about my proposal, I’ll think about yours too,” he said tensely.

Annoyance bubbled up in Harry.

“I think I need to rephrase myself,” he said. “I’ll do it. If Draco joins me.”

Robards regarded him silently, not moving a muscle. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking. Harry held his breath. Chosen One or not, he didn’t want to test his luck too often.

But today was apparently a day he could, as Robards eventually said “Fine, I’ll let you both know when I expect you to be there. However, I want a draft of your presentation, especially what Auror Malfoy is going to say. Leave it with my secretary by Wednesday.” And without waiting for an answer he walked away.

Harry watched him leave, frowning. In most cases he thought his boss was a reasonable man, but regarding his view on Draco, well, that was one of the things they disagreed on.

Harry sighed. He should go and change out of his work out clothes, but Draco was down there, probably already in the showers, all wet and soapy, suds of soap travelling down the length of his body and _fuck_ Harry felt his cock beginning to stir again at the thought of a naked, wet Draco. He could _not_ go take a shower in this state. He tried thinking about something else ( _Hermione droning on about_ Hogwarts, A History, _Professor Binns in lingerie_ ), but the image of Draco kept popping up anyway. He needed to take the edge off. 

Looking around to make sure no one was watching he hurried to the toilets. Gratefully finding all the cubicles empty, he still cast a strong silencing charm, pulled down his trousers and pants and took his already stiff cock in hand. He began stroking it while thinking about earlier, how bloody hot Draco looked in his joggers and t-shirt, his hair dishevelled and falling in his eyes. Harry fantasised that he was the one who had made it look like that by running his hands through Draco’s hair, tugging lightly to get his head in the right angle. Then he remembered Draco straddling him and pinning his hands to the floor, and he pictured what could have happened if their fucking boss hadn’t come and interrupted them. Maybe Draco would have bent further down and grazed his teeth against Harry’s throat. Maybe he would have slid down Harry’s body a bit and felt Harry’s erection, rutting against it until Harry was fully hard but still pinning him down. Harry found he liked the thought Draco being in complete control of him.

He felt the tingling of his oncoming orgasm and he squeezed his eyes shut, imagining Draco egging him on in that posh tone of his and he came with a muffled groan, painting the cubicle wall with his release. Panting slightly he vanished the mess and tried to compose himself before he took off to the changing rooms.

When he entered, Draco was just coming out of the showers with a towel around his hips, drops of water still clinging at the tips of his hair, and Harry was happy he’d taken the time to wank because despite that his cock still twitched in appreciation.

“There you are!” Draco said while carefully drying his hair, squeezing it with a different towel, not ruffling it around like Harry usually did. Maybe that was why his hair was always so sleek. “I thought Robards might have had you abducted.”

Harry forced a laugh.

“Yeah, you know how he can be, rambling on about nonsense.”

“Well, I wouldn’t know, he never wants to talk to me outside the most necessary orders,” Draco said, a bitterness to his voice that Harry didn’t like but also didn’t know what to do about.

“Actually, he wanted us to give a speech or something to the Auror trainees about what happened during the war,” Harry said while carefully folding his glasses and placing them on the bench. 

“Us? As in both of us?” Draco asked, incredulously.

Harry continued undressing, yanking his sweaty t-shirt over his head. “Yeah. I guess it would be good for the new recruits to hear from someone who was on the… er, _other_ side and how— ,” the t-shirt caught on his head and he struggled a bit before managing to get it off, “how the people involved thought and acted,” he continued, without telling Draco whose idea that had been.

When he looked at Draco again he found him staring. Harry blushed. Shit, he had probably gone too far.

“Was that a bad idea?” Harry said and Draco shook himself.

“What?”

“Sorry,” Harry said, “I understand if you don’t want to do it, I just thought… I know you’re as reluctant as me to talk about the war, but I felt like… if I could do it with you, it wouldn’t be as hard.”

Draco continued to stare, but now at a spot just beside Harry’s head. He cleared his throat.

“I’ll have to think about it,” he said after a beat.

Harry nodded and quickly stripped off the rest of his clothes before he went into the showers. The warm water felt good against his skin, easing his sore muscles and he groaned in satisfaction. He felt like staying in there all day, but he was meeting his friends after work, so after washing up and rinsing off he turned off the tap and summoned a towel from the shelves, rubbing it at his hair. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he went out to the changing room.

Draco was thankfully clothed now and was applying some sort of face cream. Harry, hair still a bit wet from the shower, contemplated how the hell he could dry himself and get his clothes on without exposing himself too much. But then the image of Draco studying his naked body while being fully dressed himself came to mind and he had to stifle a gasp as his prick twitched again in interest, and this time it filled out a bit. Shit.

But it appeared as if Draco was just as awkward as Harry, or maybe just not interested in looking at him, because he was now rummaging around his bag and had been for a while, now Harry came to think about it.

“So what are you doing after this?” Draco said, eyes still trained on his bag.

Harry stood with his back to Draco, deciding he had to drop the towel in order to get his pants on without too much fuss. 

“Well,” he said, grabbing his pants to get ready. If he did it quickly… “I’m meeting the lads and Ginny at the pub,” he continued and dropped the towel. As it fell to the floor, he heard Draco make a strangled sound and he turned, only to see Draco quickly look down at his bag.

”Something wrong?” he asked while trying to yank up his pants, as they caught on his damp skin.

Draco coughed. “Hrm, no, nothing, I thought I had forgotten my deodorant but I found it.”

“Oh. Well, if you hadn’t you could’ve borrowed mine, I don’t mind,” Harry said, shrugging.

“Thanks,” Draco mumbled, his cheeks tinting a lovely pink. Harry loved when Draco was blushing, whether from embarrassment or excitement or, like now, undoubtedly, from the shower. “Likewise.”

Harry hurried to put on the rest of his clothes and adding a tiny bit of Sleekeazy to his hair to keep the worst unruliness at bay.

“Are you coming to the pub, too?” he asked as they exited the changing rooms together.

Draco cleared his throat. “Sure. I’ll meet you there, I just need to— ,” he made a vague hand gesture towards the elevators “get something from the office,” he added.

“Do you want me to come with you? We could go together.”

“No!” Draco answered quickly. “No, I… I need to go alone. I need to be alone. For a bit.”

“Oh. Okay,” Harry said, feeling left out.

Draco stopped, lifting his hand as if to reach out for Harry but stopping midway, his hand hanging uselessly between them. He took a breath and opened his mouth but shut it again, turning away.

“I’ll see you at the pub, Harry,” he mumbled, walking away swiftly, leaving Harry to stand and stare at his retreating form.

* * *

“Harry! I bet you can’t catch this one!”

Seamus was holding a peanut between his forefinger and thumb, a little further away this time. Harry laughed.

“Okay but this is the last one! I’m getting sick of the taste.”

Seamus took aim and Harry opened his mouth, trying to anticipate where the peanut would go. 

“Hey, Malfoy! Come join us!” Ron said and Harry turned, wincing as the peanut hit his ear.

“Oi, Harry! Focus!” Seamus yelled at him.

“ _Another_ game of this?” Draco drawled as he came to stand beside Harry. There were snowflakes caught in his eyelashes. Trying to keep from reaching out and brushing them off, Harry huffed, embarrassed.

“Er, yeah, they’re sort of betting on me now,” he said, pulling at his ear.

“Fascinating,” Draco said as he slid down on a chair by the bar, beckoning the bartender over to order.

“Malfoy! I haven’t seen you in ages! You wanna bet this round?” Seamus said with an exaggerated wave.

“Oh, no no, I’ll just take this opportunity to continue my anthropological studies of Gryffindors,” Draco said, fishing a self inking quill and a scrap of parchment from his inner pocket. ”Granted, I don’t have much time, but one must seize the opportunity when presented, especially when one finds their subjects in their natural habitat.”

Harry laughed. 

“Oh, I guess it’s much more fancy to bet on horses or quidditch matches or wizarding duels, right?” he said, bumping Draco’s shoulder with his own.

“Well,” Draco sniffed, “at least _those_ have some taste and skill involved.”

“Malfoy!” Ron said, appearing at Draco’s other side and slinging an arm around his shoulder. “To what do us lowly commoners owe the honor?”

“Weasley,” Draco said with dignity. “If you must know, I’m meeting Sebastian here in ten minutes.”

Harry’s heart sank. Of course. Fucking Sebastian.

“Hey, Malfoy, tell me something,” Ron said and Harry knew instinctively that whatever Ron was about to say couldn’t be good. “Why are you with that stuck up prick Sebastian when you would be so much better off with Harry?”

Draco choked on his drink and spluttered.

“Ron!” Harry said with the fakest laugh he could muster. “You know Draco and I are just friends!”

Draco didn’t say anything, he was still wheezing.

“I mean, could you imagine the disaster if we were together? We’d probably end up killing each other!” Harry continued, trying to sound amused while Draco stared at him with a blank expression.

Ron was leaning against the bar on one elbow, a bottle of beer in his other hand.

“I dunno, mate, you haven’t killed each other yet in the three years you’ve been partnered. And you already sound like an old married couple, so—.”

“Ron! There you are!” Ginny had appeared out of nowhere and was yanking Ron’s arm. “You have to defend the Weasley honor, Seamus says he can beat you anytime at Wizard’s chess!”

“He bloody well can’t!”

“Well, then come prove him wrong,” Ginny said before dragging Ron with her. She turned her head towards Harry, miming _You owe me one_ ,and Harry gave her a smile in thanks.

He chuckled nervously, hoping Draco had forgotten about the “old married couple” thing. Draco reached over and grabbed the glass beside him, sliding it over to Harry.

“I got you a beer,” he said.

Harry accepted it gratefully.

“Thanks,” he said, taking a sip. “Hey, this is my favourite brand!”

“Is it?” Draco said, cheeks turning a little pink. Must be the alcohol Harry decided, as Draco was halfway through his Cosmopolitan.

They sat in silence for a while, but Harry felt more at ease now.

“So what do you think about that speech thing?” he said to break the silence, unconsciously sorting out the honey roasted peanuts from the bowl of mixed nuts in front of him and sliding them over to Draco.

Draco remained quiet, fingers dancing up and down the stalk of his glass.

“Did Robards really suggest I make a speech too?” he said, not looking at Harry but there was a tenseness in his shoulders that told Harry he already knew the answer.

Harry cleared his throat. “Er…,”

“Do I have to remind you that you’re a terrible liar, Harry?” Draco said and the way Harry’s name rolled off his tongue _did_ things to Harry.

“Well, okay, no, it wasn’t his idea to begin with, it was mine,” Harry confessed, squirming a bit at the inquisitive look Draco gave him. “I didn’t want to do it at first, but I still thought it was a good idea, and then I thought, what if we did it together? I mean, I would be more comfortable if you were there, you make me feel safe.” Harry almost wanted to bite his tongue off. He’d said too much.

Draco worried his bottom lip between his teeth, which made Harry want to suck it into his own mouth. He quickly looked at his glass of beer to keep himself from staring.

“I think—,” Draco began tentatively, “I think I would be more comfortable with you there, too.”

Harry looked up, relieved. He smiled at Draco. “Really?”

Draco nodded, smiling back, but his eyes were a bit guarded. Harry huffed a breath and looked at his beer again. 

“Look at us,” he said, once again bumping Draco’s shoulder with his own, “who would’ve thought in school that one day we would be sitting like this?”

Draco looked at him, with a more genuine smile this time. He looked so young, so open and Harry could barely breathe for wanting to kiss him so badly. Draco looked down at Harry’s mouth.

“I...,” he started.

“Sorry I’m late, love!” Sebastian said, appearing out of nowhere and placing a smacking kiss on Draco’s cheek.Harry thought Draco’s shoulders suddenly seemed tense. He looked like he wanted nothing more than to wipe at the spot where Sebastian’s lips had just landed.

“Well, no worries, I’m used to it,” Draco said, ice dripping from every word. 

Sebastian ignored it, or didn’t catch it. “Oh well, you know, when you work in finance, like me, the work never stops!” He chuckled to himself. “I hope you weren’t too bored, love?”

“No, not at all, I had Harry here keeping me company.”

Sebastian’s jovial expression crumbled at once at the sight of Harry. “Did you now? Well, that’s awfully nice of you, Potter,” he said, slinging a possessive arm around Draco’s shoulders.

Harry nodded curtly. “I’ll just… I’ll go join the others,” he said, not wanting to be the third wheel, especially as he desperately wanted to get together with the first wheel.

He went over to his friends, who were now watching Ron and Seamus playing Wizard’s chess, but he didn’t much fancy standing there trying to look interested so after a minute or so he sat down at the bar again, at the other end from Draco and Sebastian. He ordered another pint and tried not to watch the way Draco’s hair was shining or how his eyes were sparkling as he spoke.

He didn’t know how it had started, this stupid infatuation. It had probably grown gradually, evident in the small ways that Harry hadn’t even noticed until they were incorporated in his everyday life. When they were partnered they were on friendly enough terms, but not much more than that. In the beginning they had both been surprised at how well they worked together, but with time they developed an intuitive kind of partnership and soon came to trust each other completely.

Now Draco would grudgingly help Harry fill out his reports, while Harry cooked them both dinner in his kitchen as a thank you. Somehow Draco knew how Harry took his tea and always brought him a cup from the break room.

And then there were the little things. The way Draco would cock his head to get the hair out of his eyes when it had grown too long (or just the right length in Harry’s opinion, long enough to be grabbed and to slide through Harry’s fingers, if he were ever allowed to do that). The way his voice sounded when he and Harry were taking the piss out of someone. The way his eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled genuinely, which wasn’t often, Harry had learned. But he always seemed to have one of those smiles for Harry and that made him weak in the knees.

And before he knew it, Harry’s whole life was centered around Draco, not just for work but for casual take away dinners or pub rounds or shopping. Ron and Ginny had teased him about them spending so much time together (“When will you announce the engagement?” “They’re not _that_ old fashioned, Ron! They’ll probably live together for a while first.”) Despite that, Harry hadn’t realised at the time that he was in love with Draco. At first he had tried brushing it off as a crush, or happiness to have had buried the hatchet and become friends with his former arch nemesis. And okay, so what if he found Draco attractive, who didn’t?! The man was a walking sex dream. But with time he had to admit that what he felt was deeper than attraction or a crush, he was utterly and completely lost.

The problem was, Harry didn’t want to jeopardize his friendship with Draco, so for months he tried to suppress his feelings because there was no way Draco felt the same about him. Eventually he felt like he would explode if he didn’t tell him, and so he gathered all his courage and went to Draco’s flat to confess. And that’s when he was first introduced to Sebastian, who Draco apparently had started dating two weeks prior.

Harry had tried liking Sebastian, he really had, it seemed unfair to dislike someone just because he had squashed Harry’s hope of getting together with Draco. But Sebastian simply wasn’t good enough for Draco. He didn’t appreciate his dry humour or how witty Draco could be. He always seemed a little condescending toward most people, and to Draco especially, as if he was doing him a favour by dating him. That one annoyed Harry beyond measure. Draco deserved someone who was with him for _him_. 

So Harry tried again to suppress his feelings. When that didn’t work, he tried going out with other people, but either they were too star struck, too tall, too short, too boring, too cheap, not smart enough or generous enough, not enough _Draco,_ and there was never a second date.

“Why don’t you just tell him how you feel?”

Harry snapped out of his reverie. He hadn’t even noticed Ginny had sat down next to him until she spoke. He sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, knocking his glasses up against his forehead.

“He’s with someone else, Gin” he said with a sigh.

She scoffed. “So? You two are perfect for each other and you know it.”

Harry shook his head slowly, once again glancing over at Draco’s table.

“Come on Harry, you’ve got to do something about this, you’ve been pining for almost a year now.”

“I’m not pining!” he answered a little too quickly and definitely a lot too loud. “I’m not pining” he repeated in a hush, “I just… It’s just a crush, all right? Just a crush that I’ll get out of my system. Eventually.”

She pursed her lips and regarded him sceptically.

“What?!” Harry said when he got tired of her sitting there and silently judging him.

“You know…” she said and Harry could hear she was weighing every word. “Sometimes… you kind of… settle for something, or someone, when you think you can’t have what you really want.”

He stared at her.

“What are you on about?”

She sighed, gathering her hair in a ponytail and letting it out again, as Harry knew she always did when she was trying to find the right way to express herself.

“I’m just saying that if one got the right kind of encouragement, one would maybe not settle for less than perfect.”

Harry shook his head.

“Again, what are you on about?”

She scoffed.

“Honestly Harry, if you don’t know what I’m talking about I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

He looked pointedly at her, trying to assess what the hell she meant.

“It’s a question of confidence,” she said, folding her arms, telling Harry that this particular conversation was over.

At the other end of the bar, Draco and Sebastian stood up, collecting their cloaks, scarves and mittens. Draco turned in the doorway and lifted a hand to wave at Harry, who waved back before taking another swig of his beer.

Ginny gave a heartier wave, using her whole arm and calling ”Bye, Draco!” which made his mouth quirk up at the corners the way Harry loved. He was so gone.

”There he goes, the love of your life,” Ginny said with a faux wistful tone. ”And he will never find out about the depths of your desire.”

”Shut up,” Harry grumbled, shoving her with his shoulder, which only made her laugh and ruffle his hair. “I need to go to the loo,” he said, standing up on slightly wobbly legs.

”Yeah, well don’t be gone for too long or I’ll find other company!” Ginny said and laughed as Harry flipped her off.

As he passed Draco’s table he saw an abandoned scarf lying there. He walked over to the table, squinting at the scarf. It looked like Draco’s, and deciding he would return it at work on Monday, he took it, running it through his fingers. The material was so soft and felt expensive, kind of like the owner himself. Harry couldn’t resist lifting it to his face, inhaling deeply the scent of Draco.

“Harry? What are you doing?”

Harry froze. No way. No. Bloody. Way.

What were the odds that Draco would show up at the exact moment he was smelling his scarf? Harry turned slowly.

“Draco! Hi! Er...found your scarf,” he said, still holding the damn thing as if it was a prized possession.

“Were you…were you sniffing it?”

Harry forced out a laugh.

“Oh! Yeah I just er...wanted to make sure it was really yours,” he said, mentally kicking himself for not coming up with a better excuse. “You know, I have the scent of a bloodhound, ahahaha.”

Draco blinked.

_Shut up, shut up, shut up._

At the corner of his eye he could see Ginny staring at them both. He guessed this must be one of those moments when you couldn’t look away even if you wanted to.

“Right,” Draco said, extending his arm to take the scarf.

“Draco? Are you— Oh there you are! What took you so long?”

As if things couldn’t get any worse, Sebastian was now standing in the doorway. Draco turned to him, frowning.

“I told you I was going to get my scarf, I’ve only been away for a few seconds, what could I _possibly_ have been doing in that time?”

Sebastian had the grace to look a bit sheepish, but Harry noticed vaguely that his eyes flitted to Harry for a brief second.

“Yes. Well, if you’re quite ready—”

“Yes, yes I know,” Draco said, waving his hand dismissively. “We’ll miss the show if we don’t hurry.” He turned back to Harry. “Thank you for keeping it safe,” he said, looking into Harry’s eyes.

Harry’s mouth suddenly felt very dry.

“Of course,” he croaked. “I’ll keep anything of yours safe.” _Your scarf, your heart_ , he thought but thankfully he wasn’t so inebriated he’d say the words out loud.

Draco swallowed.

“Goodbye Harry. See you Monday.”

“Yeah,” Harry said, his voice sounding strangely hoarse. “See you Monday.”

He watched Draco and Sebastian leave, then turned to Ginny who was now sitting with her hands clasped over her mouth, eyes as round as saucers.

“Oh my lord, Harry, I thought I would _die_ of second hand embarrassment!” she said.

“Shut up,” Harry muttered.

“Aaw, I’m sorry sweetie. Let me buy you a drink.”

* * *

“What’s wrong with me, Gin?” Harry said two hours and several shots of firewhiskey later, “Why doesn’t he want to be with me?”

“I thought you said it was just— just a crush,” Ginny said, hiccoughing.

“It is! It was a rhetorical question,” Harry said, waving his hands to stress his point. He propped his chin on one hand. “You know, I wouldn’t even mind if he didn’t want to date me, as long as he dumped that stuffy, stuck up— ,” he snapped his fingers, trying to come up with the right word. “Help me out Gin.”

“Numpty cock flap,” Ginny said, yawning widely.

“Yes! That’s it!” Harry said, punching the air with his fist. “Numpty cock flap!” He took a swig of his beer, Ginny having decided half an hour ago it would be best if he switched from hard liquor. “They should break up, and I would be happy to be Draco’s conversation… consultation…” He huffed, annoyed at his vocabulary skills, but immediately perked up. “Constellation prize!” he said triumphantly.

Ginny fell off her stool onto the floor in a fit of laughter.

“What? What did I say?”

“Conste… Constellation prize!” Ginny wheezed, clutching her stomach.

Harry frowned, thinking hard. Or as hard as he could at the moment, everything seemed a bit foggy.

“What’s it called then?”

“Consolation prize” she said, wiping her eyes. “Although, it’s kind of fitting, you know?”

“What is?” Harry said, trying to remember what was wrong with what he had said.

“A constellation prize. But I guess Draco would be _your_ constellation prize.”

Harry thought about it for a moment.

“Oh! Because of his name! Honestly Ginny, that was a really lame joke, even for you.”

She snorted. “Okay, love. Time to get you home.”

* * *

The next day Harry woke up to the sounds of clinking and banging. He squinted at the light, which seemed unnaturally bright. Must be midday then, he decided. His mouth felt like he had dragged his tongue against the carpet at some point, and considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed that wasn’t a far fetched thought.

The clattering continued and he frowned, realising that Kreacher had died two years ago, so who was making this raucous?

A harrowing thought gripped him and he looked down his body. To his relief, he still had the clothes from the day before on, minus one sock. Oh right, he’d stepped in a puddle on his bathroom floor.

With a groan he rolled over, rubbing at his eyes and knocking his glasses even more askew. He must have slept with them on. Merlin, he must have really been out of it last night.

With a jolt to his stomach he remembered. Fuck. The scarf. Fuck fuck fuck. He’d made a complete arse of himself, hadn’t he? He’d be lucky if Draco ever wanted to speak to him again.

He got up on unsteady legs and stumbled out the hall and into the bathroom, deciding that whoever was in his kitchen couldn’t be very hostile. He examined his reflection in the mirror. He looked exactly like he felt: like a complete wanker. His eyes were bloodshot, his skin tinged with grey, there was an angry red mark on his cheek where his glasses had pressed into it. He splashed some cold water on his face and opened the cabinet to look for a hangover potion. After he found it and drained it in three big gulps he took a piss, gargled water and went out to the kitchen to see who his mystery guest was. He was not surprised to see Ginny lounging around in the kitchen, occasionally clinking a glass to the tap and banging a wooden spoon against an empty pot on the stove. Harry snorted, making Ginny turn.

“Finally!” she said with an eye roll. “Took you long enough, I’ve been starving for _hours_!”

“You know, you could have just come into my room and woke me up like a normal person.”

“Ew,” she said, wrinkling her nose, “no I wouldn’t much fancy the risk of seeing you—,” she gestured at him with the wooden spoon “in various states of undress.”

Harry laughed.

“Were you really just making noises to wake me up instead of making breakfast yourself?”

“You know I hate to cook Harry, especially in a Muggle kitchen,” she said, much too cheerfully for this time of day in Harry’s opinion. “And it’s not very hospitable of you to sleep when you have a house guest anyway.”

“Fine,” Harry said with a sigh as he stepped in. “What can I get for you my lady? A full fry up? 

“Well, it’s the least you can do,” Ginny said as she leaned against the kitchen top, arms crossed. “Oh, and I made you coffee.”

Harry gratefully accepted the steaming mug Ginny had poured him by pulling her into a one-armed hug and kissing her on her head.

“So tell me, honestly, did you stay here to gloat?”

She squinted up at him.

“Partly... and partly to pick up the pieces.

Harry blew out a gust of air and scrubbed at his eyes. 

“I really did make a fool of myself, didn’t I?”

“Oh! Nooo. No not really, you were—,” she started but when she saw Harry’s look she continued, “Okay fine, yes, you absolutely did. But maybe if you’re lucky, Draco lost his memory from last night.”

“You’re not helping!” Harry groaned as he lit the stove and chucked some slices of bacon in the saucepan. “The least you can do is slice up some tomatoes and mushrooms,” he continued, waving his wand to summon a cutting board and a knife. 

Ginny made a face at him but did as he asked. They worked in silence, but soon the sounds of sizzling bacon and the knife against the cutting board filled the tiny kitchen and Harry felt his shoulders drop several inches. This was nice, this was comfortable. He had to push away the thought that he wished he could have this every day, with someone he loved, who loved him. He sighed.

“Do you want me to talk to him for you?” Ginny said.

“Who?”

Ginny rolled her eyes. “Draco, of course!”

Harry picked out the bacon from the saucepan and cracked two eggs in it before putting in sausages around at the sides.

“You mean to Obliviate him? Because I think that is my only chance of getting out of this with some shred of dignity.”

Ginny said nothing and when Harry looked at her she was regarding him in that same way she had yesterday, like she was contemplating whether or not she should tell him something.

“What?” he snapped.

She quickly looked down at the vegetables she’d cut into halves. “Nothing,” she mumbled. “Hey, can you show me again how the toaster works?”

Harry took the bait just for the sake of house peace, not in the mood to try and weedle out whatever information she wasn’t willing to share. He showed Ginny how to operate the toaster and had to laugh at her delighted shout as the slices of bread popped out of it. He heated a can of beans, put the food onto two plates and placed them on the little table.

They ate in silence, Harry only chastising Ginny for putting too much ketchup on her breakfast (“Why did I bother making you a nice meal if you’re just going to drown it beyond recognition?”) and Ginny sticking out her tongue at him. The rest of the day they spent slouching on the couch watching bad action series and game shows. (“Why are his shorts so short, Harry?” “I don’t know, because he’s in Hawaii?” “But everyone else has long slacks.” “Are you complaining about Tom Selleck being too scantily dressed? Just enjoy his strong legs and hairy chest!”)

Harry liked this. Sometimes he wished he and Ginny were still together, before he remembered that they decided long ago that they would never work as a couple. As friends they were great, and right now he was thankful for it. But he couldn’t rely on Ginny curing his loneliness forever he thought as he glanced over at her laughing at the TV when Alan Davies got another klaxon.

* * *

On Sunday Harry kept himself occupied to keep his mind off of Draco. He visited Ron and Hermione. Ron had thankfully missed Harry’s blunder. He played with baby Rose, barely flinching as she threw up on him while he bounced her on his knees. 

He went to Andromeda and Teddy for Sunday dinner, playing exploding snap with Teddy and watching him zoom around the back garden on his Junior Cleansweep, almost making him forget about his slip up. But somewhere in the back of his mind was always the insistent niggling feeling that he’d fucked things up completely.

At night when he went to bed he lay tossing and turning, trying to beat his pillow into shape, constantly checking the time to see if it was time to get up yet. When the alarm finally went off at 5.30, of course 15 minutes after he had finally been able to fall asleep, his first instinct was to call in sick. How in the name of Merlins’s soggy bottom would he ever be able to face Draco again?

He spent a full half hour lying in bed feeling sorry for himself before finally dragging himself up. Deciding he didn’t have time for a shower in favour of breakfast he padded into the kitchen for some eggs and toast, but when he sat at the table he could hardly get any food down. He was chewing the same bite over and over and it only seemed to grow bigger. When he finally gave up, his breakfast was only half eaten, which had to be a new one for him, who always ate every single bite ever since the Dursleys. 

Draco had commented on that in the beginning of their partnership. “Honestly, Potter, you eat as if you were raised by wolves,” he’d said with his posh accent that, at that time, mostly annoyed Harry beyond belief. Harry had merely shrugged, not really comfortable enough to tell Draco about his upbringing. It wasn’t until a year later, at a pub night after several pints that Harry in hushed tones had told Draco that the real reason he always ate as if someone would take his plate away was that for the first ten years of his life that had been his reality. Draco’s face had gone strangely blank, his eyes steely grey and it had taken Harry a moment to see his fist was so tightly clenched it trembled.

“Harry,” he’d said, “I hope you know I’m working on my prejudices towards Muggles, and I believe I’ve come a long way, but—,”

Harry had held his breath, waiting.

“If I ever come across these ‘so called’ relatives of yours, I’m not sure I could be held responsible for my actions.”

Looking back, Harry saw something had changed in their friendship after that, something fundamental in the way they both relied on each other, both at work and privately. Well, except for Harry’s big fat crush that threatened to ruin everything they had built between them.

Harry took a deep breath and released it, once again contemplating feigning sickness, before he mentally slapped himself to gather his famous Gryffindor courage. Before he had the time to regret it, he’d taken the Floo to work. Maybe if he was lucky Draco had forgotten about the whole thing.

He took the elevator to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and was both relieved and disappointed that he didn’t run into Draco on the way. He still wasn’t sure how he should approach it. Not mention it at all? What if Draco brought it up? Would he be able to laugh it off?

“Oh, Auror Potter, glad I caught you,” someone said as he passed Robard’s secretary’s desk. 

He turned.

“Morning Ethel,” he said, happy to postpone the inevitable for a moment longer. “What did I do now? Was there a problem with one of my reports again?”

“No no, they’re all fine. I would like you to take a look at these files,” she said, handing him a stack of parchments. “They’re suggestions for candidates to be your new partner.”

Harry felt his stomach drop.

“New— But…I already have a partner.”

“Not anymore, I’m afraid. We received an owl this Saturday from Auror Malfoy, requesting to switch partners, effective immediately. Merlin knows it will be tough finding _him_ a new one, but these were the ones that came to mind for you, so if you would be so kind to look them over as quickly as possible,” she babbled, oblivious to the fact that Harry’s life had just ended. For real this time.

Numb. That was it, he couldn’t feel his body anymore, all that existed were the files of his new possible Auror partner and the buzzing sound in his ears growing louder and louder.

“I’ll…I’ll do that,” he said eventually as he realised that he was expected to say _something_. 

“Good boy,” she said. “Are you quite all right, dear?” she added, apparently looking at him properly for the first time.

Harry tried to swallow, but there was a big lump in his throat, probably what little breakfast he had managed to force down making its way up again.

“Actually,” he said, “I don’t feel so well. I…I think I need to go back home and rest.”

Ethel looked him up and down, concern written across her face.

“You do that,” she said, “I’ll tell Head Auror Robards. But please, if you could bring the files with you and look at them when you’re feeling better, that would make my job easier.”

“Sure. I’ll do that,” Harry answered, amazed that he was able to form words with a tongue that felt like it had been replaced with a flobberworm.

He turned around, his legs shaky, but somehow he made it back to the elevators and the Floo’s. Stumbling out of the hearth, he closed down the connection immediately and warded his house against incoming owls. But he couldn’t settle down. He paced the entire house, walking up and down the stairs, in and out of every room, looking for a distraction, something, _anything_ to do to keep himself from feeling this…abandoned...betrayed.

He’d known there was a risk that Draco would be so dismayed by Harry’s now obvious infatuation that their work relationship would be awkward, but not that he would cancel their partnership without even telling Harry. Weren’t they better friends than that?

After about an hour there was an insistent knocking on his door. Or rather someone was trying to break it down.

“Harry? Harry! I know you’re in there!” he heard Ginny shout. “Quit moping and come open the door!”

Harry frowned, not knowing how the hell Ginny knew he was at home.

“Harry!” The pounding continued. “You come open this door this second or I’ll cast a Bat Bogey Hex so strong it will make the door sprout wings and fly off, and then how would you be able to hide from anyone?!”

He snorted despite himself and went to the hallway, wrenching the door open. Ginny was standing in front of him, arm raised mid-knock. She froze and gave him a wide grin.

“Hi, Harry! Sorry, Harry!” she said, turned and ran down the steps, her hair flying like fire behind her.

Then Draco, who had apparently been hiding behind her, stepped forward. 

Fuck.

“Harry,” he started, but was cut off as Harry grabbed the handle and made to close the door. No way was he dealing with this now. But Draco was too fast for him and put his foot in the doorway.

“Harry,” he said again, while opening the door wider, “we need to talk.”

Harry crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Oh so _now_ we need to talk?”

“Okay fine, I deserve that. May I please come in so I can explain myself?”

“Well, by all means Malfoy, please do,” Harry said, gesturing for Draco to come inside and staunchly ignoring Draco flinching at the use of his last name. 

Draco followed Harry inside, closing the door carefully behind him, but continued to stand in the hallway looking lost and insecure, which gave Harry some confidence.

“Go on then,” he said. “Please tell me what possessed you to end our three year partnership without—,“ his voice failed him he and had to take a gulp before continuing, “—without telling me first.”

Draco looked miserable.

“I’m so sorry Harry, I should have talked to you first.”

“Yes. You should,” Harry said, just above a whisper.

Draco took a deep breath, but before he could say anything Harry started.

“Listen, Draco, I know I made a fool of myself the other day, but it’s not as if it meant anything. I was hoping you would be a sport about it, laugh it off and—” he had to breathe, his chest feeling tight, “and not—,” No, he couldn’t finish the sentence, couldn’t say it out loud again because then it would be true.

Draco stared at him, his throat working silently. 

“Ministry protocol clearly states that Auror partners are not allowed to be romantically involved with each other,” he said finally, sounding as if he was quoting the text directly. ”I know they let you get away with almost anything, but I have to watch my step and not put a toe out of line for them not to sack me. They’re looking for any excuse to punish me still. I know being your partner has been the only thing saving me from—,”

“What do you mean, ‘romantically involved’?”

Draco swallowed.

“Fuck. I shouldn’t have—,” he slid a hand through his hair, messing it up and Harry wanted so badly to grab it, to feel the silky strands between his fingers. “I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. Shit, I thought—, when I saw you with my scarf—, and before that, when we were dueling—” Draco said, looking anywhere but at Harry.

Harry took a step closer.

“Yes?” he said, almost not daring to breathe.

Draco looked up, eyes wide.

“I…It made me hope, as I’ve never dared to hope before, that you...that we…”

Harry took another step, then another, eyes never leaving Draco’s.

“Go on.”

“Harry…,” Draco said, so softly, like a caress, and that was all it took for Harry to close the distance and finally, _finally_ brushing his lips against Draco’s. And _fuck_ , the contented sigh that slipped out of Draco, as if he had been waiting for this as long as Harry had, made Harry’s chest ache. 

He gave in and captured Draco’s lips in a searing kiss, tangling his hand in Draco’s hair and pulling him closer, pressing himself flush against Draco’s body. Draco nipped at his bottom lip and Harry opened his mouth, allowing Draco’s tongue to slip in. The feel of it, of their bodies so close together at last made Harry feel as if he had vertigo, he had to hold on to Draco from fear of falling over

“Fuck Harry, do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to do this?” Draco panted between kisses, carding his hands through Harry’s hair, tugging slightly. It hurt a little bit, but in a good way, so good, and Harry moaned into Draco’s mouth.

“How long?”

Draco didn’t answer, instead he backed Harry against the nearest wall, trailing biting kisses along his throat, making Harry forget time and space. Was there ever a time when he didn’t get to do this? When he wasn’t allowed to explore all the ways he could make Draco create these delicious sounds that spilled from his lips? He slid his hands over Draco’s back, down to his arse and pushed their groins together, a groan escaping him as he felt Draco’s hard cock press against his own. Draco stopped marking Harry, instead taking his earlobe in his mouth.

“Bed? Bedroom,” he said, his voice breathy but thick like treacle.

Harry nodded, squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus before apparating them to his bedroom. Draco swayed a bit upon landing, grabbing Harry hard.

He didn’t know what to do, he had imagined doing this with Draco so many times, and now he didn’t know where to start, so he tried to do everything at once. He rutted against him, kissing him messily, fumbling with his buttons, making Draco laugh against his mouth.

“Slow down,” Draco said breathlessly, “we have time.” He looked at Harry with dark, lustful eyes. “I want to take you apart,” he whispered in Harry’s ear, sending shivers down his spine. 

A moan escaped Harry’s lips, but he shook his head. There was no way he would last that long and he didn’t want to come without knowing how it felt getting fucked by Draco. “Not now. I want you inside me five minutes ago,” he said, earning a gasp from Draco. ”Next time. Or the time after that,” he said. “We have the rest of our lives.”

Draco stilled. 

Oh no. Oh shit, he’d said too much. This didn’t mean as much to Draco as it did to him. Of course it didn’t. He was such an idiot, and now he had said too much, shown his hand too early.

But then Draco kissed him, hard.

”Fuck Harry, don’t say things like that if you don’t mean them.”

He tugged at Harry’s t-shirt, bunching it up over his torso and caressing his bare skin. Bringing a hand up to pinch one nipple, he slipped the other under Harry’s waistband, squeezing his arse and making Harry’s cock twitch with appreciation.

“Bed. Now,” Draco said and Harry shivered at the command in his voice.

Still kissing Draco, he started backing towards the bed while yanking his t-shirt off, bringing his glasses with it. Draco pulled Harry’s joggers and pants down, growling in frustration as they caught on Harry’s stiff cock, which only made Harry laugh.

“Now who needs to slow down?” he said with a laugh that turned into a gasp as Draco shoved him roughly onto the bed and took out his wand. “Don’t even think about vanishing these, they’re my comfiest pair of trackies,” he told Draco.

“Well I sure as hell am not fucking you with these abominations on,” Draco said.

Harry drew in a sharp breath. Fuck. Draco was going to fuck him. He was really going to fuck him, this was really happening. He reached out his hand, pulling Draco closer by his half open shirt and started working on his belt buckle. Draco was still, staring at him, his breath coming in shallow bursts. Harry hesitated, looking inquiringly into Draco’s eyes, still unsure if this was what he really wanted, but Draco cupped his hands around Harry’s face, kissing him slowly, tenderly, and Harry was sure his heart was going to burst out of his chest. Death by kissing Draco, what a wonderful way to go.

Draco pressed him down on his back, still kissing him, crawling up to kneel above him. Harry flung out his arm and silently cast an _Accio,_ catching the jar of lube that came soaring from his bed drawer. Draco whimpered.

“Fuck Harry, do you have any idea what you do to me?” he said, while pulling his shirt over his head. This was the first time Harry had seen him undress this way, usually he would carefully unbutton it all the way down before sliding it off, but now he was obviously as eager as Harry to remove it. “This casual display of wandless magic? I was so turned on I had to wank after our dueling session this Friday.”

“Really?” Harry said breathlessly while returning to Draco’s belt and fly, enjoying the bare skin of Draco’s stomach.

Draco nodded, kissing the spot just below Harry’s ear. “I’ve been wanking myself raw this weekend.”

Harry had to laugh. It felt like a relief, a year of tension leaving his body at Draco’s words.

Draco lifted his head to look at him. “What’s so funny?”

Harry shook his head. “Why do you think it took me so long to talk to Robards?”

Draco stilled, a frown appearing between his eyebrows.

“You did _not_ wank after you talked to our boss.”

Harry snorted, throwing his arm over his eyes in embarrassment. “I did.”

“Should I be jealous?” Draco said, a teasing tone in his voice.

Harry laughed again, peeking out at Draco from under his arm.

“I mean, sure, Robards is well kept for a man his age, but I doubt he wants to kiss my arse as literally as you do.”

“Oh, someone’s cocky.”

“Well…” Harry said, gesturing to his groin. Draco snorted.

Harry pulled Draco closer again, gasping as his torso touched Draco’s warm skin. He let his hand slip inside Draco’s open trousers, squeezing his arse. He drew his feet up on the bed to be able to buck his hips up to meet Draco’s groin, realising he still had his joggers twisted around his ankles. Laughing, he pulled them off.

He had no idea it would be like this with Draco. Sure, they shared playful banter at work, but Draco always seemed a bit tense around Harry, as if there was a part of him he was hiding. So had Harry, but he had no idea they did it for the same reasons. It was silly, really.

But it didn’t feel silly anymore when Draco finally wiggled out of his trousers and pants, it felt like at last everything was falling into place, like this was where they were supposed to be.

Draco reached for the jar of lube that Harry had dropped on the bed, coating his fingers with its contents, making Harry dizzy with anticipation. He slid his fingers slowly against Harry’s crack, stopping at his hole and massaging it slightly. Harry lifted his knees to his chest, holding them in place with his hands to give Draco better access, and was rewarded as Draco slid one finger in. Harry hissed at the intrusion but it felt so good. Draco looked questioningly at him.

“All right?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah. S’good, it’s just been a while.”

Draco exhaled shakily, looking up at Harry’s face. “I could use a spell if you’d like?”

“No, I...I want you to open me up like this. I want your fingers in me, Draco.”

Draco whimpered. “Fuck, Harry, you can’t keep saying these things and expect me to last.”

Harry lifted his head to look at Draco. He was watching in awe as his finger slid in and out. Harry let his head fall back again, shifting his arse a bit on the bed.

“You can— oh! You can add another.”

Not wasting any time, Draco added another finger, pumping it in and out, further and further.

“Look at you, Harry,” he said, voice low and raspy, “look at you taking my fingers so well.”

Harry arched his back at Draco’s words, his cock twitching in appreciation.

“That’s right, Harry, you’re doing such a good job, taking my fingers like this,” Draco continued and _fuck,_ it shouldn’t make him feel this good, he had never liked being praised for things he’d done, but hearing those words in Draco’s posh tones _did_ something to him. “Can’t wait to finally fuck you, Harry,” Draco continued, “can’t wait to bury myself in you.”

Harry moaned, too aroused to care about anything other than the feel of Draco fucking him with his fingers.

“Another,” was the only thing he could get out, “add another or I won’t last.”

Draco opened the jar of lube again with one hand and dribbled some more along Harry’s crack, the sensation of the cool liquid against his hot skin exquisite. As he added a third finger Harry had to stifle a sob of pleasure.

“I can, you can—,” he babbled while Draco kept moving his fingers in and out of him relentlessly.

“I can what, Harry?” he said innocently, “I can keep going?”

Harry shook his head, covering his eyes once more with his arm.

“Then what, Harry? I’m afraid I can’t help you if you don’t spell it out for me.”

Harry growled in frustration and arousal. “Fuck me! Just fuck me now, Draco, I’m so ready!”

Draco chuckled and removed his fingers, making Harry keen at the loss of them, but replacing them with the blunt head of his cock. Then he stilled, making Harry look up again.

“I need more lube if it’s been a while for you,” Draco muttered, pouring some more in his hand and coating his cock with it. 

The sight of Draco, kneeling on the bed, so focused on Harry’s pleasure and well being, made his heart clench.

“I—,” Harry started. Draco looked up at him, eyes dark and wide, his flushed chest heaving. “It was worth waiting. For this. For you.”

Draco surged forward, kissing Harry messily, all teeth and tongue. “Do you have any idea the things you do to me?”

Harry chuckled, a little embarrassed. “I thought I said ten minutes ago how I wanted you inside me five minutes ago, what is your cock still doing on the outside?”

“I also remember someone wanting my fingers instead of a preparation charm,” Draco murmured against his ear while tracing Harry’s rim with his cock. “Some things are worth the wait Harry,” he said, slowly pushing in. 

Harry moaned, dragging his hands along Draco’s back and putting his legs around his hips, urging him on, deeper, deeper, until his body was flush against Harry’s. As much as Draco had prepared him, it still burned a bit, but in a good way. He wanted to feel it as much as possible, wanted to feel himself stretching around Draco’s cock. 

Draco stilled as he bottomed out, stroking Harry’s sweaty hair off his forehead.

“You’re doing so good, Harry. Look at you taking my cock this way,” he said, rolling his hips experimentally, making Harry moan again. “That’s it, Harry, you feel so good. So good around me,” he said, setting up a slow, steady pace that had Harry fisting his hands in the duvet.

Draco continued fucking him, his face hovering just above Harry’s, their breaths mingling but lips not quite touching, whispering encouragement until all Harry knew was Draco’s voice, Draco’s body, Draco’s cock pounding into him mercilessly, his hand wedged between them, stroking Harry’s cock, making his body sing with each twist of his hand.

“Fuck, Harry, I—,” Draco said breathlessly against his throat, his thrusts becoming erratic.

“Fuck yes, do it Draco,” he said, “fill me up.”

And with a broken cry Draco did, his cock twitching inside Harry as he emptied himself. Harry turned his head to look at him, to see how Draco looked coming undone. Draco’s eyes were shut, his mouth slack as he rode out his orgasm. The sight of him, and feeling of him, finally pushed Harry over the edge as well as he came all over his stomach. Draco opened his eyes to look at Harry, a slow smile spreading across his face.

“I never knew you’d look this beautiful,” he murmured, stroking a hand gently through Harry’s hair.

Harry felt his cheeks heat that had nothing to do with their previous activities.

“Shut up,” he mumbled.

Draco chuckled, brushing his lips to Harry’s temple and slid out of him, making Harry grimace a bit. Lying on his side, Draco regarded him.

“Okay?”

Harry nodded, trying to catch his breath. “More than.” He smiled. “I’m brilliant.”

“Are you very sore?”

“A bit, but it’s all right, I like to feel it.”

Draco groaned. “Merlin, Harry, you have got to stop saying things like this.” He tried to sound annoyed, but his eyes shone in a way Harry had seldom had the opportunity to see, he looked so open, so happy. Then a wicked smile spread across his face. “I could kiss it and make it better if you’d like.”

Harry laughed, but his body betrayed him as his cock twitched at the thought of Draco rimming him. “Hmm, I remember someone calling me cocky for assuming you’d want to do that.”

“Well, I was impatient to fuck you,” Draco said, leaving little kisses all over Harry’s chest. “But like you said, we have the rest of our lives. Starting with the rest of this day. You told Ethel you were sick, didn’t you?”

Harry scrubbed at his eyes. “Shit, I did. And I was supposed to choose a new partner. How am I going to do that?”

“We’ll find you someone,” Draco said, his mouth travelling further down, “although it will be a hard task finding someone to put up with that big head of yours.” His tongue dipped in Harry’s navel, making Harry hiss with pleasure.

“What about your boyfriend?” Harry asked, suddenly remembering that bloody knobhead Sebastian.

Draco stopped lavishing Harry’s abdomen with his tongue and sighed. “What _about_ my boyfriend?”

Harry worried his bottom lip, not daring to look directly at Draco but rather kept his eyes on the ceiling.

“I want you, Draco, but I want all of you. I won’t be some— ,” he fumbled for the right word, “some fun on the side.”

Scooting up to cup his cheek, Draco tilted Harry’s head towards him.

“ _Merlin_ , Harry, you could never be “some fun on the side”. Don’t you know you’re it for me? I’ve wanted you for _ages_ ,” he said, leaning in for a kiss.

“So, Sebastian— ?”

Draco flopped back onto the bed with a groan. “Do we have to talk about that idiot?”

“You think he was an idiot?” Harry said, propping himself up on his elbow.

“Anyone with a brain thinks he’s a pompous idiot, yes,” Draco said, pursing his lips. “And he never appreciated my wit.”

“What, you knew that?!” Harry asked, completely baffled.

Draco sighed. “The man wouldn’t recognise a joke if it tap danced in front of him wearing fishnet stockings and nipple tassels.”

Harry was distracted for a moment at the thought of Draco wearing nipple tassels. He shook himself.

“So—?”

“So I broke up with him. Right after our date on Friday. He was angry, of course, called me a few well chosen words,” he said with a shard of bitterness to his voice. “He was never—I never wanted him the way I want you, I only started going out with him because I thought there was no chance you would ever feel the same way about me.”

“But why did you put up with him if you thought he was such an idiot?”

Draco looked at Harry, disbelievingly. “It’s not easy for me, Harry. I don’t have a lot to choose from, with my past and my role in the war. No,” he said as Harry made to argue, “I know you know I’ve changed, but the rest of the Wizarding World still sees me as Death Eater scum.” He paused, turning his head away and looking intently at a spot on the ceiling. “I was convinced you were out of my league and so I tried to move on. Being your partner and friend was more than I would ever dream of before, I didn’t want to risk it by scaring you with my feelings.”

“And yet you did. You did risk it. Why?”

There was silence for a while, so long that Harry almost thought Draco wouldn’t answer. 

“Well, I never thought I’d say this, but the Weasleys do have a charm to them,” he finally said. Harry looked at him, perplexed. “The thing Ron said, about you and I being together, and how flustered you looked,” Draco continued, biting his lip. “I guess I wouldn’t have thought about it if it weren’t for Ginevra showing up, shooing him away. She’s a great friend, but she needs to work on subtlety.” 

Harry chuckled. As much as he loved Ginny, sometimes she was as tactful as a bludger. “She has her heart in the right place.”

“She has. And she can be discreet. I...I may have confided in her, some time ago, more or less under the influence, and she hasn’t said a word to anyone. So when you didn’t show up for work today I knew I could trust her to help me.”

Harry was quiet for a while, letting all this new information sink in.

“Well, I guess we have a lot to thank Ginny for,” he said gently, draping himself over Draco and turning his head towards him. “For being the best of friends and for helping me get what I’ve wanted for almost a year.”

Draco smiled at him, but it was a bit shaky around the edges. Pressing his forehead to Harry’s he snorted softly. “Sappy Gryffindor,” he said, his voice betraying him.

“Shut up,” Harry said, capturing Draco’s lips with his own. “Wait,” he said, remembering what Draco had said earlier, ”so before you got together with Sebastian, you wanted me?”

Draco averted his eyes. “Maybe.”

Harry laughed. “Well, aren’t we two oblivious idiots? Remember that night I came to your place and met Sebastian for the first time? I came because I wanted to tell you, that I— .”

Draco stopped him with a kiss.

“Let’s not delve into the past, shall we?”

A million butterflies filled Harry’s stomach as he dived in for another kiss. 

“You’re right,” he whispered, “let’s just look forward.”

* * *

“Ginny, they’re at it again.”

Ron’s exasperated voice filtered into Harry’s mind as he sat entwined with Draco on a pub bench, Draco’s lips sliding against his own.

“Leave them be, Ronald, their love is still in this delicate budding phase.”

“Delicate?! I can see Harry’s hand inside Malfoy’s pants!”

“All thanks to me, which I haven’t got any recognition for, might I add,” Ginny said, and Harry could hear she was pouting.

Reluctantly he wrenched himself free from Draco’s lips and flashed Ginny a grin.

“I thought this public display of affection was reward enough?”

“And Ginevra, we will make sure to give you an honorary mention at our future wedding,” Draco added, his breath tickling Harry’s ear as he laughed at Harry’s gasp. He still wasn’t sure this wasn’t all just a dream, and that Draco talked about marriage so openly already.

“Did you help fix them up to get back at me for telling Mum about that piercing you did?” Ron said, giving his sister a hollow look. “I can’t be safe anywhere anymore! The other day I walked in on Harry kneeling before Malfoy and—,” he gulped, “no, I mustn’t think about that anymore, that never happened. Or it shouldn’t happen, because _it was in your bloody office_ , Harry!”

“Hey, you were the one telling Draco he’d be better off with me, so quit whining!”

“I also said you sounded like an old married couple. _An old married couple_ , Harry! You know, the kind who don’t snog each other senseless in public places,” Ron said, arms folded across his chest.

“You’re right, Ron. They don’t do it publicly. They just shag like crazy at home. I mean, take your parents for example.”

“Oi! Don’t you say anything about my parents!”

“Right, sorry, my mistake. They probably never do it. They couldn’t have done it more than—,” Harry counted on his fingers “six times. Okay seven times, because there’s bound to be one time for practice, no one gets it right the first time, right Ron?”

Ron scowled, purple in the face, but Ginny leaned back against Lee’s arm propped up on the back of the bench, a smug smile on her face. “I have to say, I like this new horny Harry. He’s so much funnier than pining Harry.” She lifted her bottle in a salute.

“For your information, pining Harry was horny as well, this one is satisfied,” Harry said, his hand still firmly on Draco’s arse.

“If insatiable,” Draco drawled, stroking his hand over Harry’s chest, resting at a nipple to pinch it through his shirt, making Harry suck in a breath.

“Please stop. Or at least have the decency to obliviate me,” Ron said, banging his forehead repeatedly onto the table.

“He’s right, though,” Draco murmured, tracing his tongue along the shell of Harry’s ear, “we should take this elsewhere.”

Harry glanced over at Ron who was sitting with his hands over his face. “Yeah you’re probably right, I think he’s had enough.”

“Definitely. Oh, and I think I forgot to mention that I bought a new but plug and it’s working _wonderfully_.”

Harry bit his lip to keep himself from moaning as Draco’s words went straight to his cock. Scrambling up from their seat he grabbed Draco by the hand and Disapparated, feeling he couldn’t get them home quickly enough.

They landed in Harry’s bedroom, and Harry wasted no time in stripping Draco.

“You fucking tease,” he growled as he ripped his robes open, “you’ve had that in you this entire time and you didn’t even tell me?”

Draco lifted his arms so that Harry could pull off his clothes.

“Well I was hoping you would grope me and notice it then,” he said, sliding his hands through Harry’s hair and bringing him close for a searing kiss. “And then you would take me to the loo and have your way with me, but you were so _chaste_ , only keeping your hands on my skin. So I had to give you a nudge. I guess this is fine as well.”

Harry whimpered.

“You’re going to make it so good, won’t you, Harry? You’re going to fuck me so good,” Draco breathed against his ear.

Harry nodded eagerly.

“Get on the bed,” Draco said, and there was that command in his voice that had shivers running down Harry’s spine. He undid his trousers and lay back on the bed.

“Ow!” he said as something poked him between his shoulder blades.

Draco gave him an inquiring look. “What?”

“What’s this?” Harry said, turning around to find a neatly wrapped box with a ruby red satin bow on it. “Did you get me this? Is it some new toy to try out?” he said, his voice dropping slightly without him meaning to.

“No.”

Harry frowned, turning the box in his hands, and discovered a note attached to it. _To Harry_ it said, and he recognized Ginny’s handwriting. He opened it. Inside was an object that looked as if it was made of brass.

Draco came up behind him, peeking over his shoulder. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure,” Harry said, picking up the object. “It looks like a...cup?”

Draco reached out his hand, grabbing the cup to turn it. Suddenly the lid popped off and something bright and sparkly shot out of the cup, illuminating the whole room. Both Harry and Draco recoiled, staring at the slowly spinning thing before them.

“It’s the Draco constellation,” Draco said quietly, his eyes sparkling from the light of the moving image of his namesake. “But why…?”

Harry picked up the cup, examining it. There were words engraved on it, in elegant letters. _Harry Potter’s Constellation Prize._

Harry laughed. Draco turned towards him. “What?” He spotted the inscription, reading it with furrowed brows. “What does it mean?”

Harry shook his head, smiling. “I’ll tell you some other time. I believe we had some unfinished business here,” he said, stroking his hand along Draco’s back and letting it rest on his arse, enjoying his sharp intake of breath. “Just remind me that I need to adjust my wards not to let Ginny in unless I’m home.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos are lovely <3
> 
> I'm also [on tumblr](https://andithiel.tumblr.com//)! Come say hi!


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